Ben’s Library

By Amani Uduman & Joanna Bartel

New Frontier Publishing, 2026

Teacher Notes

Reviewed by Lara Cain Gray

Ben’s Library is a sweet celebration of books, libraries, and the reading communities created when a favourite pastime is shared. This is Uduman’s third traditional picture book, but it sits alongside a vast backlist of educational readers, bilingual read alouds, and collaborative children’s writing projects. Her lifelong passion to promote reading is evident in this story of two friends who bond over books.

Elissa loves to read in any spare moment, from breakfast to bedtime. She even keeps reading when new neighbours arrive making loud banging noises. When she’s read every book on her well-stocked shelves, she borrows a stack from the school library. On her way home with a very heavy bag, she spots a colourful mini house with a sign: Ben’s Library. It seems all the banging was the new neighbour, Ben, and his dad building a street library. Elissa is Ben’s first customer! But the library only has one book. Elissa now has the perfect place to share some books from her bedroom, and make way for the borrowed books. And even better, Ben now has a bookish friend to hang out with on the first day at his new school.

This is a gentle story that champions imagination and friendship. It positions books as something to be shared and enjoyed in both quiet and social spaces. Joanna Bartel’s illustrations are warm and relatable, with diverse character representation and plenty of little extras for readers to spot around the lush spreads. The focus on borrowing, not buying, more books is a timely reminder that libraries, of all kinds, make reading freely available for everyone, and can feed the most voracious reader with regular adventures.

Lara Cain Gray is the author of The Grown-Ups Guide to Picture Books.